The Estonian Parliament has passed a law on explicit consent to sex

The Estonian Parliament has approved a bill that requires explicit consent for sexual intercourse. 

The decision was supported by 69 lawmakers, while eight voted against it. The new rules expand current legislation, under which only cases involving the use of force or taking advantage of a victim’s helpless state were considered rape. 

The changes were adopted as part of Estonia’s accession to the Istanbul Convention, under which engaging in sexual intercourse without consent is a punishable offense, regardless of whether violence was used or the person was in a helpless state. Consent does not necessarily have to be verbal, but it must be voluntary and clearly expressed. The document will take effect after approval by the country’s president. During the first reading, the initiative was actively criticized by representatives of the opposition party EKRE, who called the new legislation a “revenge law” and expressed concern that the changes would become a tool for settling scores with former partners.

This was reported by ERR.

Germany’s Minister of Justice has advocated for strengthening the legal provisions governing the concept of consent to sexual relations. She proposed introducing the principle of “only ‘yes’ means ‘yes’,” replacing the current approach, under which the absence of objection is sufficient (“no means no”).

In Dnipro, a court remanded a suspect in custody for the murder and rape of an 11-year-old boy.